Switch and Bait
by Hastur
Summary: Justin loves the singer Mikayla, and Alex thinks this means something about their relationship. She hatches a plan to find out, and hilarity ensues. A WoWP HM crossover and possibly Jalex. Totally depends on your reading of it
1. Phase One

**A.N.: **So, this fic was written at the bequest of Underneath All Elsewhere. The ideas are mine, but it is our good friend and fellow user who suggested that I actually write this fic.

**Disclaimer: **The characters used herein are copyright their respective owners, the basic setting was created by Todd Greenwald, and the whole thing is owned by Disney Corporation. They also own my soul.

* * *

The television in the Russo home played softly, no one particularly watching it at the moment. Max sat on the couch, not _exactly_ watching it, but not exactly not watching it. He took it in, passively staring at the screen, disinterested in what was on but finding nothing better on any other channel. Alex, his sister, sat at the dining room table, doing homework of some sort or another. Over by the kitchen island, his mother Theresa prepared dinner.

"Oy, _mi hijo_, you'll rot your brain with that stuff," she said. "Why don't you read a book?"

"But mom, I don't feel like reading. I just want to sit here," Max replied, disengaged.

"Suit yourself," Theresa said, giving up. "What's on, anyway?"

"Music videos. No interesting artists, though," Max went on, still bored.

"Oh, like who?" Alex interjected, getting bored herself, her homework wearing on her.

"Hannah Montana, Mikayla."

"Did you say Mikayla?" Justin said, coming down the steps. He bounded down, excited.

Max rolled his eyes. "A new video of hers is about to play."

"Ooh, turn it up!" Justin said. Alex, now curious, also walked over.

"That Mikayla is hot," Justin commented as he sat down.

Alex cocked an eyebrow and took the seat next to him. "You know, some people say I look just like her," she said.

"Nah, I'm not seeing it," Max said, brushing it off. Alex sighed and Justin shushed her as Mikayla appeared on the screen.

"I still say I look like her," Alex muttered under her breath. Justin either didn't hear her or was purposely ignoring her. Either way he was engrossed in the singer's beauty and talent as she belted her newest song. He didn't speak, or seem to even blink as he watched, taking in it all. When it was over he sat back, as though satisfied with a meal he had just had.

"No," Justin said, finally replying to Alex's statement. "See, she's hot, you're my little sister." Alex smirked at this. Could it possibly be that he actually thought she was pretty? This sounded like it might be a bit creepy, but it didn't have to be. Justin could admit she was beautiful without being _attracted _to her, which would be creepy. She doubted that he would ever, of course, call her good-looking, or indeed even _think _that she was good looking. Still, the fact that she looked like Mikayla – despite what Justin and Max said, she held to this belief – this should mean that if she weren't his sister, he would think she was as gorgeous as Alex knew she was. If there were some sort of test she could perform, she would in a heartbeat. That would require her no longer being his sister, or at least _him_ not perceiving her as his sister. Of course, that in itself would require something along the lines of magic. It was fortunate that Alex was a wizard, then.

Changing someone's perceptions, altering their thoughts and changing what they fundamentally know was a very tricky thing to do. It would involve some powerful magic. The last time she recalled being able to make a massive number of people deluded was due to a genie, who were as powerful as they were malevolent. She had also heard of a memory erasing spell, which apparently erased the past few minutes from the memory of a large group of people. It was an essential spell in wizard secret keeping. (Unbeknownst to her, she had it cast on her once. But of course, she forgot it having been cast, though she did manage to figure out that _something _odd had happened and managed to use the situation to get a date with Riley, a cute guy she'd had her eye on. He was since forgotten, but Alex's manipulative skill only grew.) However, it was much easier to erase memory than modify it, because modifying it was essentially erasing it and replacing it with a false memory.

Replacing a true memory with a false memory... Alex considered this. What if she could replace the memory of Mikayla with Alex? And vice-versa, of course. Would that make Justin think of Alex like he does Mikayla, or make her think Alex was Mikayla? There would only be one way to find out, of course. Still, there had to be an even easier way. Replacing... what if she could replace Mikayla with Alex? Or, more specifically, _switch_ Alex and Mikayla? She shook her head, all this thinking in the third person was beginning to confuse her.

So what if she switched places with Mikayla? That wouldn't require everyone to suddenly think she was Mikayla and again, vice-versa, not if she, say, _literally_ switched places. It would involve simultaneously teleporting the two of them to each other's locations, and _no one_ would be the wiser because she looked _exactly_ like the artist. All she would have to do is dye the ends of her hair red, and then when she appeared in Mikayla's room, she would take her place and begin acting like her. Perhaps people would mention something - "Oh, you look different Mikayla," they might say – but Alex felt she could easily brush this off and pass for the singer. It wouldn't be forever, if she tried this – just long enough for her to come to New York, somehow get Justin a backstage pass, and meet him, and get him to admit she was beautiful. At least that last part should be easy to accomplish for _Mikayla_. And once he did, she would reveal everything – _she _was actually Alex. She would prove it with a hilariously embarrassing story from his past, preferably one involving a situation brought about by her. Then Justin would _have _to admit that not only did she look like Mikayla, but she was damn hot.

Step one was to dye her hair. So she sat quietly through dinner, and after dinner, went down to the drugstore. She knew the exact brand and shade of hair dye that Mikayla used from reading teen magazines, so she purchased it. It cost her almost a week's salary (after the IRS took most of her paycheck), but she thought it would be well worth it.

The next day, she followed the directions on the box, and used it to dye the ends of her hair, just like Mikayla's.

"What did you do to your hair, honey?" Theresa said, without the tone of disbelief and with a tone of genuine curiosity, as Alex descended the steps to show it off.

"You like it?" she said, twirling a little.

"Oh please," Justin said as he passed by. "You just did that because you think you look like Mikayla."

"I _do _look like Mikayla," she returned. "This just completes the _ensemble._"

"Whatever, I still say you don't," Justin said, going up the stairs, brushing by her slightly. Alex felt a tingle go up her spine, and she wondered what it was. She ignored it for now though, as phase one was complete. Next, she would have to find a spell to do what she wanted to do.

* * *

**A.N.:** So, it's short because 's setup is such that it behooves authors to write short chapters and update frequently. I'll be shooting for 1000 words per chapter, which is _dreadfully_ short, believe me. Also, I apologize, but it doesn't seem to be up to my usual level of work. I hope I do better next chapter. Um, what do you people usually say? Read and review, that's it. Even if it's a bad review, go ahead and say it sucks.

**Edit: **Found a mistake or two, which I fixed.


	2. Phase Two

That night, Alex had trouble getting to sleep, which was just as well because when everyone else was sound asleep, she would be sneaking out of bed and into the lair, where she would be researching spells in hopes of finding one that would do what she wanted. Otherwise, she might have to forge one herself, which was always difficult, especially because her father hadn't taught them about it, except for improvised spells, which were inherently less powerful.

Until then, thoughts ran through her head like trains with blaring headlights, coming at her to run her over, and blinding her in the meantime. Why was she doing this, in the first place? She wanted to prove that she was hot, of course, but she wanted to prove this to _Justin._ Why would she want her brother to think she was attractive? She wasn't attracted to _him_, after all. At least, she hoped not. She also wanted to prove, not only to Justin, but to everyone, that she looked like Mikayla. If she could pull this off, it would prove that to _herself_ at least. She knew that she couldn't very well tell everyone that she had switched places with Mikayla, but she was going to tell Justin. At least he would have to agree with her, and for everyone else who disagreed, she would know better. But the thing about Justin liking Mikayla would be at least a little odd. After all, that would kind of be like him liking _her_. And maybe he didn't claim that she looked like Mikayla, but if she did look like her and Justin liked Mikayla, and thought she was beautiful, does that mean that that secretly, Justin was attracted to _her_, his little sister? That was awkward.

Perhaps there was another reason she wished to switch places with Mikayla. She was rich, famous, popular, and probably got everything she wanted. Alex wouldn't mind living like that for a while. There was one problem, though. Mikayla probably wouldn't want to live like _her_ for that time. Alex would have to make sure that when they switched, Mikayla wouldn't have any idea what was going on. Of course she probably wouldn't know what was going on, but she might blow everything. Alex would have to include in her spell something to disorient Mikayla and make her think that maybe she was going crazy. If not, Mikayla would probably blame her for it, which would, admittedly, be the truth. She might have to switch back with her in person and explain that she didn't know what happened either but she was glad that they got to switch back now. Or she could opt for casting the same spell and letting Mikayla think that she had just had a really weird dream or something like that. But then where would that time be to her? Everyone else would think that she had been doing stuff for some time that she had forgotten. That pretty much settled it: Despite the difficulty, Alex was going to need some sort of memory modification spell. Such a spell would be powerful but dangerous, and she wouldn't want to mess with anyone's mind too much. She didn't mind doing so, of course, but she knew that it could get both the victim and her into much trouble. So she would have to be subtle about it. What she planned on doing was implanting the memories she would have of the time during the switch into Mikayla, while replacing the memory of Mikayla's time while switched. Even if it wasn't perfect, Mikayla might resort to the old "It was a strange dream" explanation. After all, she would remember doing most of what she had supposedly done during this time, and then some vague memories of a random New York family.

Alex would figure out the specifics later. For now she knew what kind of spells she needed, or would possibly need. Spells that would be useful, anyway. Coming to this conclusion, she finally managed to get to sleep, just to have her alarm go off. It was the alarm she set to tell her to get up and sneak into the lair. She was still more or less awake, so it was easy for her to get up, unlike how she was in the mornings. (Just five more minutes!) She got up, crept downstairs, carefully opened the heavy door to the lair, and sneaked down. She turned on the lights and pulled a large tome of spells from the shelf. She looked through it for spells about teleportation and memory alteration, of any sort. She already knew the one for self teleportation, but that didn't quite do her much good. The biggest problem with it was that it required her to have been to the place she was teleporting to. What's more, it wouldn't teleport other people to another place. This was undesirable, because what she wanted to do was teleport into Mikayla's bedroom when she was sleeping (not creepy at all, right?) and then teleport Mikayla into her room. That way, Mikayla would wake up wondering where she was, which Alex felt would be less jarring than to suddenly be transported to a new location.

Alex had some luck as she sifted through all the spells. She found a memory modification spell that let the caster implant false memories in the target. That would be handy, she would have to hold on to that one for later, when it would be necessary to use it. That is, after they switched places.

And then she found it. The spell she needed. That one, beautiful spell. The "transport something someplace" spell. She read carefully all the criteria for casting it. She needed to either have seen the place, or see a picture of the place. This was easy enough, she'd seen Mikayla's room in a TV special. (Justin had been particularly interested, naturally.) Best of all, it could transport a target to a location too. It would be perfect for her purposes. Phase Two was complete.

* * *

**A.N.: **Hey, I think it's pretty good. Not bad anyway. I'm finishing this up at nearly 2 AM so it's probably not as good as I think. But I wanted to get it in before I got to bed. As always, please review!


	3. Phase Three

**A.N.: **I apologize in advance for my brief discussion of religion, but in any of my longer works about Wizards of Waverly Place, I feel a need to explain why they weren't Catholic. (I mean, they're half Latino, half Italian! I'm not being stereotypical, just historically accurate.) I try not to go too much into theology, so I hope I don't offend anyone. Also, it is pure conjecture that Harper is Presbyterian. I imagine her as _some_ Protestant sect common in the north.

* * *

Alex woke up to the sound of her second alarm, the one she had set to wake her up for good. Fortunately, that day was Sunday, so she didn't have to go to school. Unfortunately, this meant that her _madre_ would drag her to Mass. It was just part of her culture, so she took all the kids. Funnily enough, despite her father being descended from Italians, he was _not_ Catholic. The Russo family split from the Catholic Church well before the Protestant Reformation, and hadn't looked back. Despite this being before the 95 Theses and the advent of Lutheranism, they had converted to a Gnostic sect of Christian Mystics.

"But Mom, we're _Russos_," Alex had protested.

"You still have Latino blood in you," her mother would reply.

"But mom, we're _wizards_. We'd be burned at the stake or something if they ever found out. You too, just for associating with us!"

"Oh shush, they haven't done that in years. I'm sure you'd just be excommunicated."

So she had given up and dressed in her Sunday best weekly, and genuflected and sang hymns in Latin. Some of the theology was at interesting, at least.

She went to church today, eager to show her church-friends her new hair coloring. The decrepit old priests would look upon it with disdain, but the kids her age would approve. She especially couldn't wait until Monday, when she could show Harper. (Presbyterians!) She would have to keep up with the dye regimen as prescribed by the instructions on the box, but it would be worth it. This meant, of course, that Phase Four, the actual switch, wouldn't occur until Monday night. It would be a tense wait, but it too would be worth it, to see the look on Harper's face.

The sermon didn't quite speak to Alex, as it involved being true to one's self and not lying to those you loved. She squirmed a bit as she was about to pull the proverbial wool over everyone's eyes in one of the largest lies she's ever told. Of course, if all went according to plan no one, except her and Justin, would ever know what had happened. Mikayla would know that something odd had happened to her, but wouldn't be able to quite tell what it was and would probably attribute it to some sickness or something along those lines. So it would all be OK.

After Mass, she changed into work clothes and took her shift in the Sub Shop. This passed without much interesting happening. She didn't even get any comments on her hair or how much she looked like Mikayla. She didn't ask anyone, that would be rude, but she had at least expected some comment. There were no really regular customers here today, nor did she see anyone she knew. She shrugged it off, deciding not to think about that, even though she did kind of want some notice of it.

After her shift, but before dinner, she went on with Phase Three. This involved her refreshing her memory on Mikayla songs and practicing in her room.

Dinner also went on without anything of note besides the usual sibling fighting.

"You still don't look like Mikayla," Justin said.

"I bet Harper will agree with me," Alex replied, not getting bothered by this. She knew that she was going to prove it to him. "Besides, I bet I can sing as well as her anyway."

"I dunno, I've heard you sing in the shower," Max piped in. "I don't think you're anything like Mikayla."

"Was I singing a Mikayla song?"

"Well no..." he admitted.

"There you have it."

"Hey Alex," Justin said, a look of defiance and challenge in his eyes. "Maybe after supper you _could_ sing a Mikayla song for us. I have the karaoke CD."

"Ha! I accept," she said, eager to prove herself, since she had practiced during Phase Three.

So after dinner, Justin popped in his Mikayla karaoke CD and poised over the button.

"Hey, why do you even have that?" Max asked. Justin turned red.

"No reason," he mumbled. "So what song?"

"You pick one, test me. Just tell me which one you choose first."

"All right, _If Cupid Had a Heart," _he said, pushing the button.

"Challenge me a little," Alex muttered as the opening bars played. She cleared her throat, and began to sing right on cue.

After the song, Jerry, Theresa and Max applauded. Justin pressed "Stop" and stood up.

"Well not bad," he admitted. "I wouldn't say you're quite as good as Mikayla, though."

Alex beamed. Even though apparently her other three family members apparently thought that she had done quite well, she felt especially good about this compliment from Justin. For him to say that she was "not bad" was tantamount to anyone else saying she rocked it. After all, it was _Justin. _He wouldn't easily give in to complimenting his sister, nor would he ever be able to think anyone was as good as Mikayla. She had to admit that she felt something else, a slight shudder of excitement at having Justin's attention. This was not a feeling she wanted to deal with, not now. She pushed it aside, burying it in the depths of her psyche such that it may not bother her now.

So Phase Three, she had to believe, was an outstanding success.

The next day, Monday, at school, she did get a few comments. Most were positive, though they didn't compare her to Mikayla. But when Harper came over to Alex, early in the day, her eyes lit up and Alex could tell what she was thinking.

"Alex, you look _amazing_," she said.

"Thanks Harper," Alex said, mentally agreeing with her. "Do you think I look more like Mikayla like this?"

"I think you look exactly like Mikayla now!" Harper cried, excited. Unfortunately, GiGi was walking by, and she overheard.

"Well well," she said, looking at Alex's hair, which had been let down much like Mikayla's. "Trying to copy someone famous, are you?"

"Paying them homage, more like," Alex explained.

"Well don't. You know you look nothing like Mikayla."

"Thanks GiGi!" Alex said, much to the other girl's confusion. She left with her followers in close tow.

"That GiGi is so mean," Harper said when she left.

"It's OK," Alex told her. "At least she thought I was trying to mimic Mikayla, maybe she actually thinks I look like her."

"I dunno Alex. But who cares what she thinks, right?"

"Right Harper," Alex said, ignoring GiGi for now. It didn't bother her, because Phase Three was complete and now Phase Four could commence, later tonight.


	4. Phase Four

**A.N.:** I like reviews. Please keep reviewing!

* * *

Alex went home in an excited mood. She knew that she had mere hours until she would enact Phase Four, and actually switch places with the pop star. But she still had some time to wait.

"You've been in a chipper mood," Justin said to her when she got home. "You're hiding something, aren't you?"

"Yes, I have a secret."

"Oh? What is it?" Justin said, gullible enough to believe she was telling the truth.

"Come here," Alex said, motioning for Justin to come closer to her. He obliged, and Alex whispered in his ears. Being so close to him caused her more of the confused emotions she was trying so hard to fight. Breathing in his scent, brushing his skin, everything caused her a heady, light feeling that she couldn't quite pin down, but she didn't want to admit, it felt a lot like she felt with Riley. What could this mean? She surely couldn't _like _her brother! That was horridly bizarre.

"Justin is a dork." Justin backed off, with a look on his face that was a mix of inanity and looking hurt.

"I should have seen that one coming," Justin said.

"Yes, yes you should have," Alex replied, smiling at him. To her amazement and absurd pleasure he smiled back, and then had the audacity to _wink_ at her.

"Why did you just wink at me?"

"I didn't wink at you," he said, going off into his room. Alex shook her head and chuckled, despite her not wanting to deal with the thoughts she was having right now.

She shrugged it off once more and went to her room to continue preparing. She reviewed Mikayla's newest songs a few more times, and with Justin's borrowed karaoke CD she practiced singing the older ones to music. Sadly, the karaoke CD for the new ones wasn't out yet. Still, she practiced the new ones _a capella._ It was the best she could do with what she had, where she was.

After that, she was about as ready as she felt she could be, so she went to bed a little early.

Her alarm went off at 4 AM, when Mikayla would also probably be in bed, even in California. She got up and cast her transport spell. She disappeared, and found herself in a large, beautiful room with a four-poster bed in the middle. This was Mikayla's room – she had seen it many times in magazines and on TV specials, but it rather took her breath away to actually _be_ there. She tried to make no noise as she crept over to the bed, where the sleeping Mikayla lay. Alex was in luck – often stars had to pull late nights. But Alex was quite often lucky, a fact that perturbed Justin.

Suddenly, Alex had a thought that almost made her rethink her entire plan. Mikayla didn't know about magic! How was she going to react when Alex's father took her into Wizard class? Well it was too late to back out now, Alex realized. She cast a delayed disorientation spell on Mikayla, so she would wake up in a hazy fog, and hopefully this would help make her think that_ she_ was crazy. When they switched back, Alex would erase her memory of the time and replace it with Alex's memory of the time. Until then, she'd see how it would go. She touched Mikayla gently, and cast the spell to teleport the pop star to her room.

And the switch was then made. Phase Four was complete. Alex crawled into Mikayla's bed, but was too excited to fall asleep for some time.

The next morning, Alex found herself being woken up by a woman holding a clipboard. "Rise and shine Mikayla!" she said cheerily. Alex bounded up, already pumped full of adrenaline.

"That was quick," the apparent personal assistant said to her. "In a good mood today?"

"Let's just say I woke up on the right side of the bed," Alex said. "So remind me, what's first on the agenda today? A recording, a signing, an appearance?"

The assistant laughed. "No dear, breakfast."

"All right," she said begrudgingly. "But what's the first work-thing I have to do?"

"Voice lesson with Professor Bridges at 9?" the assistant said, reading off the clipboard.

"Sounds like fun!"

Her assistant looked confused for a moment, but decided to ignore it. She led 'Mikayla' out of her room and into the rest of the house, which was just as big. Alex tried not to look at it all in awe, because surely Mikayla was used to it, but she couldn't help it completely. It all looked so fancy.

Even the kitchen was huge, and had _personal chefs _in it. Alex looked at them in amazement, but tried to shake it off.

"So what's for breakfast?" she asked innocently.

"Well what do you want?" one of the chefs asked her, beaming.

"Would a cheese omelet be OK?"

"Ah, such a _simple_ request!" the chef said, almost disappointed. "But your wish is my command. The best cheese omelet you've ever had, coming up."

Alex smiled. She could get used to this.

* * *

Mikayla was awoken by a loud sound – an alarm cloak. _What the hell?_ she thought. _I didn't set an alarm._ She opened her eyes and confusion washed over her, both from not knowing where she was, and, what she didn't know, the spell that Alex put on her.

"Where am I?" she wondered aloud. "How'd I get here?"

She walked over to the dresser and looked at the clothes.

"This isn't my stuff – this isn't my room. Some of these clothes are cute though..." she changed anyway, finding that the clothes were almost exactly her size. Unwittingly, she had picked an outfit that Alex would have picked anyway.

She then ventured out into the hall, and nearly ran into a somewhat cute, brown-haired boy.

"Good morning Alex," he yawned before moving on.

_Alex?_ Mikayla thought. _But I'm Mikayla! Where am I, who was that, and why does he think I'm Alex?_

She continued downstairs, to find it was a small but charming apartment. A Latino woman stood in the kitchen, making something on the stove.

"Good morning Alex," she said cheerfully. "Would you like an omelet for breakfast?"

Mikayla opened and shut her mouth a few times. She was still in a confused daze from Alex's spell, and wasn't sure if maybe, just maybe, this was what was supposed to be going on. Maybe the whole "big pop star" thing was a crazy, wild dream, and she just hadn't woken up enough to remember the truth yet.

"Yes, that would be lovely," she replied, plopping down in a chair at the counter of the island in the kitchen.

* * *

**A.N.: **What was I going to say? (Besides of course, please review). Well, for one thing, I would have described the outfit except I really and truly _suck_ at that. I make no lies, I am male. I need an outfit consultant or something.


	5. Adjusting to a new life

"Good morning Justin, Max," the Latino woman whom Mikayla took to be Alex's mom said as two boys traipsed down the steps. The older one she had run into that morning was first, so she took him to be Justin. Another boy, younger than her, followed him. She assumed him to be this "Max." Furthermore, she surmised that these were Alex's brothers. Her brothers, perhaps? Did she have some kind of amnesia? Either way, she was going to pretend she didn't for now, that she _was_ this Alex person, and nothing was wrong.

So how was she going to get to school? She didn't know where she went or anything. Fretting a bit, she went back upstairs to look for clues.

She searched Alex's room, and found, to her good fortune, found a book-bag. Inside it, she found a mess of folders, but more importantly, she found a student ID card in the front pocket. There was a picture of Alex – or her? - on the front. She noted that it did not have hair dyed red at the ends, and she suddenly grabbed at her own hair to check. It _did_ have the dye that was a key aspect of Mikayla. So what had happened? Did she dye it red to further give in to the delusion? Or was she really Mikayla, and something odd was going on here?

Either way, it had the name of the school on it, so she had a place to start. She would have to find it somehow.

"Alex?" Justin called up, breaking Mikayla from her thoughts. It took her a second to remember that, as far as she knew, she was Alex.

"Yeah?" she said.

"We're going to be late for school," he said calmly.

_We..._thought Mikayla. _Does that mean we go to the same school? That would be useful. _

"Are you going to walk me there, Justin?" she said, trying out his name for the first time.

"Like _every_ day, yes," Justin said, growing more impatient. "Now come on!"

"Of course, of course!" Mikayla said, gathering up Alex's things and rushing downstairs.

* * *

"Lovely, lovely," Professor Bridges told Alex at her – or rather Mikayla's – voice lesson. "Well not bad anyway. Your voice doesn't seem up to your normal wonderfulness." He frowned slightly.

"I'm sorry Professor," Alex said, trying to hide her disappointment. She had thought that her voice was at _least_ as good as Mikayla's. She should have figured that a professional musician and voice instructor like the great Professor Bridges would be able to tell the difference. Even he accepted the lie though, that she was Mikayla.

"It's OK darling," he said, turning away from her to his notebook. "We all have our off days. It's been an hour and a half, that's our lesson for today. Don't worry, you did well my dear! Anyone would be jealous to be as talented as you were today – just not up to your usual state of perfection." He laid on the compliments thicker and heavier. Alex blushed slightly, knowing the real reason that things were different.

"Thank you Professor Bridges," Alex said, leaving the room. Her personal assistant – Jasmine, she had learned her name when Professor Bridges addressed her – was waiting for her outside the room.

"How did it go?" Jasmine asked.

"Fairly well," Alex said, realizing it wasn't a lie. She felt somewhat proud at her efforts. "What's next on the agenda?"

Jasmine scrutinized the list. "A full skin treatment at Salon De Cutis."

Alex's eyes lit up. This was something she wasn't used to – the full professional treatment. Egads, she could get used to living like this.

"And it looks like you could use it, too, kid," Jasmine said, now examining Alex's skin closely. She blushed slightly.

"We'll take the town car," Jasmine said, leading her out of the house and into a lavish driveway. There was a nice-looking car there, with a man in a driving suit standing outside the door. He opened it and let Jasmine and Alex into the back, and then walked around to the driver's side, and got in. He drove them downtown, to the Salon, and Alex let them treat her like a queen, taking it all in.

* * *

Meanwhile, Mikayla was trying to make the best of her time at school. She didn't know which locker was 'hers' nor did she know the combination, but she had a plan to find out.

She went to the main office.

"Um, hi," she said, doing her best to act sheepish. "I forgot my locker combination."

The receptionist sighed. "Name."

"Alex. Alex Russo," Mikayla said, remembering the name on the student ID card.

"Do you have your student ID card with you?"

"Yes, here you are," she said, handing over Alex's student ID. The receptionist glanced at it and handed it back. Then she riffled through a drawer and pulled out a small card.

"Here you are," she said in a bored tone.

"Thank you very much!" Mikayla said, smiling at her. She looked at the card. Just as she'd hoped, it had the locker number and combination on it. The number was 1337, the combination was 42 – 05 – 23.

"One more thing... can you print me off a copy of my class schedule again?"

The receptionist cocked an eyebrow, but obliged.

Mikayla went to 'her' locker, opened it and put in 'her' books. A bubbly, somewhat red-headed girl bounced up to her.

"Hey Alex!" she said. "Ready for that quiz in algebra today?"

Mikayla groaned. She was going to have to do stuff for this _Alex_ person. Good thing she was good at algebra.

"About as ready as I could be," she said, honestly, and wishing she knew this other girl's name. Just then, GiGi and her followers walked by.

"Hey Smellex, hey Barfer," GiGi said. Her followers laughed, and they went by.

_So this must be the 'mean girl' archetype. Funny, I thought that was only in movies..._

"'Smellex'? 'Barfer'? What's up with that?"

"Well you know, 'Alex', 'Harper', they kind of sound like them."

"I know, but... you think she could be more creative." _So Harper was her name..._

"Haha, true enough," the bubbly redhead, apparently named Harper, said.

"Harper, you're my friend, right?" Mikayla said.

"Your best! Why? Is something wrong?" the other girl replied, beginning to get a bit worried.

"Kind of... I'm not sure what's happened to me, but when I woke up this morning I couldn't remember anything. Like I have amnesia or something. The oddest thing is that I thought I was a pop star named Mikayla."

"Mikayla? Well you do kind of look like her..." Harper said, seeming to not grasp the gravity of the situation.

Mikayla was beginning to think that she WAS still Mikayla, and something quite fishy was going on. Perhaps it was because of her strong memories of being a pop star, or perhaps it was because Alex's confusion spell was wearing off.

"Well, I can help you remember things," Harper said, gleefully.

"Thanks Harper," Mikayla responded. "That will be appreciated." Off in the hall away a bit, she spotted Justin.

"Justin!" Mikayla cried. "Over here." Justin looked a bit confused, but then obliged and came over.

"What do you want, Alex?" he said. If it was possible to say something in a helpful tone, he managed it. Mikayla smiled at him, and noted a slight change in his demeanor. She noticed a huge change in Harper's, though. It was obvious that she was _majorly_ crushing on her best friend's brother.

"What if I told you that I wasn't Alex?"

"Oh, going to try to tell me you're Mikayla?"

"Yes! That's who I am...the pop star Mikayla. I don't know how I got into your life, but here I am."

"Very funny Alex, but the J-man is too smart for that one." He smiled and left, leaving Mikayla even more confused than before.


	6. School for all

**A.N.: **Thank you all for the reviews! Please, keep reviewing, and if you're reading this story and haven't reviewed, please take the time to do so. Even if you want to tell me it sucks! I have anonymous reviews on, so don't be shy! (Though if you do think it sucks, I would like to know what you think sucks about it, so I can improve as a writer.)

* * *

"Why did you just tell Justin you were Mikayla?" Harper asked, confused by her friend's actions.

"Harper... I think – no, I _know_ that I am Mikayla. I think I know who I am... I mean, this isn't like amnesia, where I forgot. I remember, but I remember different stuff than people tell me! Harper, you gotta believe me!" Mikayla said, practically begging.

"If you're Mikayla, how do you know my name?" Harper said suspiciously.

"You said it just a bit ago, when you were explaining GiGi's insult," Mikayla said, a bit exasperated at the slowness of the girl.

"Oh, right. Wait, how did you know where Alex's locker was? And where the school was? And who Justin is?"

Mikayla sighed and explained everything – how it was half good fortune and half her own resourcefulness. By the end of it, Harper was beginning to almost believe her story.

"OK then 'Mikayla', then how did you get here?"

"I _don't know_. That's the thing that bothers me... though surely once I'm missed, they'll start looking for me. The only other thing that bugs me is, where is Alex?"

Harper was still reeling, mostly from the fact that people who were apparently pop stars could still have decent deductive skills. If this really _was_ Mikayla, then she seemed much more resourceful and down to earth than Harper would have imagined.

"Hey!" Harper said, suddenly having a bright idea, which swam to the surface of the inner depths of insanity that was brimming with mad ideas and fruit-themed fashion. "What if you sang something? That could prove you're Mikayla!"

"How would that work? Anyone, including Alex, could know my songs, even have a decent singing voice. Plus, do you know how much engineering goes into the voice? Even in live concerts, it's played through speakers that have amplifiers, noise filters, pitch and tonality changes – it's insane. I don't even sound like me."

"Oh," Harper said, quite defeated. She retreated to her comfort zone of madness, a sort of purpley haze descending upon the rest of the world, through which she viewed everything. "So how are you going to get through today?"

"As best that I can, Harper, as best that I can..."

* * *

Meanwhile, Alex was living Mikayla's life as best that she could, which was a fair deal better than Mikayla was living Alex's. Her beauty treatment was done, and she felt more radiant than ever before, even more than that one time Riley said "You look nice" to her, and she felt happy about it for a week.

"OK," said Jasmine as they were walking out of the salon. "Your next item is tutoring with Professor Frank."

Alex's face fell and her heart sunk. She should have suspected that even pop stars had to have school, but it had slipped her mind.

Professor Frank was a kindly old man who plopped down a book on trigonometry in front of her.

"Page 172, problems 3 – 38, I believe we were on? You were just in the middle of doing them, but I'll be here to answer any questions you may have," he said, before sitting back down a bit away from Alex.

She hadn't really gotten to trigonometry yet, but she was willing to give it a try. She read a bit from the chapter beforehand and even before that, and very little seemed to make sense to her. She turned back to the very beginning.

"What are you doing?" Professor Frank said, noticing this. He was obviously confused by her reactions.

"Just refreshing my memory," Alex said, trying not to make it too obvious that she clearly hadn't done this before. She was quite surprised by the advanced level of math that Mikayla seemed to be taking. Unless she was taking her math in a different order - which Alex felt was also quite possible - it meant that Mikayla was at least a year ahead of her in math. Alex wouldn't get to trigonometry until 10th grade, and she was in algebra now.

She at least learned a little bit about trigonometry, and before she knew it, math was over and she was studying History. She read about the formation of early Rome, how the Latins conquered the Etruscan tribes – at least that's what she got out of it.

Next it was time for her foreign language studies, which turned out to be Latin. She sensed a theme here, and figured that Professor Frank was teaching Latin because he happened to know it. This was bad for her, because she was barely passing Spanish. She stared at her Latin vocab list.

"Hey, some of these words are like Spanish words!" she said aloud, surprised by it herself. Professor Frank just looked at her like she was nuts.

She struggled through Latin class, and next she had English. To her surprise, Professor Frank handed her the History book back.

"Read and take notes about the First Triumvirate," he said. "So you can write your essay about it later." Begrudgingly, she obliged.

* * *

"Eek, I'm sorry, I didn't expect a pop quiz," Harper apologized to Mikayla as they came out of Spanish class.

"That's OK, I just feel bad for Alex. Though I did the best I could. I take Latin and you know, Spanish comes from it. The vocabulary is similar and I think I understand the basics of grammar. Still, I can't imagine getting higher than a C."

"Huh, that might actually improve her average," Harper remarked. "How about the algebra quiz?"

"That I'm sure I did well on. I took Algebra last year, and I still remember the quadratic formula."

"Well that's good, you'll definitely help her grades in that class," Harper said, still surprised at the apparent intelligence of the other girl. She wasn't sure it was Mikayla, but she was pretty sure it wasn't Alex.

"Your friend Alex, she isn't a very good student, is she?" Mikayla said, not caring for the moment that she used a double-subject.

"Let's just say her strengths lie elsewhere," Harper replied.

"OK, well, can you help me figure this out after school?"

"I would, but you should know that Alex has some weird sort of family thing she does on Tuesdays and Thursdays."

"Oh, good to know. Thanks," Mikayla said, smiling at Harper. Harper smiled back.

After school, Mikayla got home quickly, not knowing when this 'family thing' would start.

"Glad to see you're on time," a man standing by a doorway to a basement said, whom she took to be Alex's father. "It's time for wizard training."

_Wizard training? _Mikayla thought. _What does that mean?_ But she voiced nothing as she followed him into the basement. Max was already there, sitting at a bench. But what Mikayla noticed even more was that the whole room was filled with strange knickknacks.

After a bit, Justin came in, smiled at Mikayla and sat down next to her. With that, their father began. He uncovered a chalk board, on which was a cartoonish drawing of a person with little lines coming out the bottom of his feet.

"Today we're learning the Third Incantation of Merlin: The levitation spell," he said.

_You've got to be kidding, _Mikayla thought, though she still remained silent.

"Justin, demonstrate on me. Point at me with your index and middle fingers together, like this," he said, showing the hand gesture. "And move them upwards as you say '_Levitatus'_."

"_Levitatus," _Justin said with force as he performed the hand gesture. To Mikayla's amazement, Mr. Russo lifted gently into the air and hovered there. She opened her mouth to object to this breaking of the laws of physics, but was too stunned to speak. Plus, she had to keep up appearances; although she eventually wanted people to believe she wasn't Alex, she didn't want to seem to be _crazy_ either.

Plus, if magic existed, that might explain how she got into her current situation. It was a convenient explanation, and one she didn't wish to dismiss.

* * *

**A.N.:** OK, so I realized as I was writing this chapter, that Mikayla is out of character. Well _nuts _I say. I like Mikayla and think she's much nicer than she is portrayed on Hannah Montana, even though there's nothing to say otherwise. I think she is justifiably antagonistic to Hannah, and, well, if you keep reading you'll find out why. Also, review.


	7. Realizations

**A.N.: **Still with the positive reviews? I've begged and begged! Please, tell me what I could do better! I was told to include more Justin in this chapter, that's a good start.

* * *

Fortunately, tutoring didn't last as long as school, and Alex was free after a couple of hours. The work though, made her feel as though she _had_ been to school all day.

_How can she keep up with this?_ Alex wondered as she walked over to Jasmine.

"All right, what's _next_?" she asked, quite exasperated for now.

"You have an hour of time to yourself, and after that, you have to get ready for your live appearance on Susan Banthony tonight."

Alex smirked. Finally, she was going to get a chance to show to the whole world she could pass for Mikayla. This was the big gamble, the make it or break it. Susan Banthony was a popular talk-show host. She only wished that she could make sure Justin watched, though she was fairly certain that he would be, due to his incessant obsession with Mikayla. All went according to plan.

For her free time, she went to hers – well Mikayla's – room and looked around. It was pretty typical of a teenage girl's room, though messier than she would have expected. A few clothes were strewn about, and an MP3 player lay almost as though discarded on the floor. Alex picked it up and scrolled through the songs, curious about what Mikayla's taste in music was like. She wasn't greatly surprised to see that there were no tracks of her own on it. Surely the pop star got enough of her own music.

What she also found curious, however, was what Mikayla _did_ have on there. It was rather eclectic, from European trance to 80's alternative rock. There was even some classical music, mostly Beethoven. This wasn't actually all that odd because of what else was on there, but what else was missing. There wasn't a lot of pop music, a fact that struck Alex as quite odd indeed.

Nevertheless, she decided to give the trance a try, and she plugged the MP3 player into a speaker system and pressed play. It was very mellow and soothing, and she soon found herself in an altered state and wondering what Justin was doing right now. Her thoughts were interrupted by Jasmine poking her head in.

"By the way, Hannah Montana is going to be on Susan too. Just thought I'd let you know." Alex shrugged, this didn't seem like big news to her. Although she was personally excited about the possibility of meeting the other pop star, it wasn't new to Mikayla. Alex knew that she and Hannah had appeared together before.

* * *

"I've never seen you take notes before, Alex," Justin said to Mikayla as she scribbled furiously, jotting down everything that Jerry said about magic. She was determined to get to the bottom of what had occurred, and she thought that studying magic as much as possible would probably lead to the solution.

"Well you know, I decided to get serious about magic," she said, trying to avoid his gaze. He really _was_ a cute boy. Moreover, she felt scrutinized by him, and at the moment she didn't want him to think she wasn't really Alex. She didn't quite know why, but she felt like she was intruding on something important and personal here, so she wanted to fit in as though she were part of the family. Thus far, they had all believed she was, even when she had told them otherwise.

And then, just as suddenly as magic class had started, it was over. She still had so many questions, but she didn't know how to ask about magic that could have put her in her current situation. Besides that, there were probably a number of different ways to do it. She remained silent still, and decided she would do research herself later.

"OK, Alex, you're on shift until supper," Jerry said, breaking her from her thoughts. She looked confused, which he must have caught onto, for he said "You know, up in the Sub Shop? Go put on an apron."

By now she had been through the Sub Shop, so she understood that the family ran it. She had no waitressing experience, but how hard could it be? She went upstairs and put on an apron, and waited for orders from Theresa.

"What are you waiting for, Alex?" Theresa said. "There are customers who need their orders taken."

Mikayla rushed to try and do this, but she didn't know which tables needed waited on, and she found that she didn't know the menu very well, or all the jargon they used. She tried the best she could, but between trying to take orders, deliver them and bus tables, she found that it was more difficult than she had imagined.

After about two hours of this, she was finally done with her shift, and Theresa was motioning her upstairs. It was apparently time for supper, which turned out to be a rather delicious casserole.

After supper, Justin went over to the couch and turned on the TV. Mikayla, somewhat interested, walked over to see what was on.

"What are you watching?" she asked Justin.

"Mikayla is making an appearance on Susan Banthony," he explained.

_Oh shoot! _Mikayla thought. _I was supposed to be on there tonight! It's a live show – what are they going to do when they can't find me?_

Nonetheless, Mikayla watched. When a girl who looked almost exactly like her walked onto the stage, smiled and waved at the audience before taking her seat next to the perky blonde that was Susan, Mikayla just stared at the screen in stunned silence, too shocked to speak.

"She looks even more beautiful than usual," Justin said dreamily. Mikayla ignored this offense, partially because she was still too shocked and partially because it was rather creepy that Justin was attracted to a girl that apparently looked exactly like his sister.

And then it hit her. _That's Alex! _she thought, coming to a sudden conclusion. _I don't know how, but we switched places! It must have been magic! _Of course, this led to the even creepier realization that Justin now thought his own _sister_ was even more beautiful than Mikayla. She shuddered slightly.

"Are you cold, Alex?" Justin said, thoughtfully. This phrase had come to have so much more meaning now that Mikayla realized his secret.

"No, I'm fine," she whimpered.

* * *

After the show, Alex had the pleasure of meeting Hannah Montana. Well, technically she had seen her on stage, when they both sat by Susan and talked about their careers, but now she actually got to talk to her.

"Hannah, it's so nice to meet – I mean, see you again," she said, trying to be polite.

"Oh cut the act," Hannah said, her friend in the blue wig looking sternly at Alex. "There aren't any cameras on us."

"What? I wouldn't – I mean..." Alex trailed off, unsure of how Mikayla would act in this situation. Was she really rivaled with Hannah Montana? In all fairness, it seemed to be Hannah who was more antagonistic.

"We all know that you're just jealous because I'm more popular than you," Hannah sneered. It was true, too, although Alex had preferred Mikayla's songs, she had still harbored respect for the more popular Hannah. Not anymore, of course.

"Plus she's prettier and more talented," Lola, the blue-haired one said. "So _shove it_."

"Oooh, OWNED!" Hannah cried, high-fiving Lola. Alex just rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, whatever," she said, walking off and not giving them the pleasure of making fun of Mikayla anymore.

"You're more chicken than a Tennessee... um, chicken!" Hannah called after her, Lola laughing at the (apparently) hilarious burn. Alex didn't dignify it with a response, she merely kept walking.

* * *

**A.N.:** Does anyone else detect some animosity toward Hannah here? Yeah, um, sorry about that. I realize that Hannah is _not_ quite in character...well some people might argue she's merely _exaggerated_.


	8. To New York

**A.N.: **Sorry I haven't updated in a while. It was hard to tell exactly where to go with this story, and I know my record was updating frequently, but I hope I haven't lost any readership due to this brief hiatus.

* * *

Mikayla woke up the next day, almost expecting to wake up in her own bed and finding that the previous day had just been a dream. But she had no such luck as she woke up in this strange girl's room, as she had the day before. She was sore, and blamed the work she had done the day before.

_How could this Alex girl do this?_ she thought, groaning and getting up, sliding out of bed. She got dressed slowly, hoping this would all just go away. Alas it did not, she managed to stay 'Alex' as she got dressed, saw Justin in the hall, and got ready for school.

On the other hand, this wasn't all that bad of a life. She certainly missed her old life, but this was a nice break Normally she was constantly having to do something, whether it was go somewhere, meet someone, do signings, learn songs – there were 100 things to do in the amount of time she only had to do 10. Perhaps a break as a regular girl was something she had needed – maybe somehow, this was a karmic balance and Alex was learning what it was like to be famous while Mikayla was learning what it was like to be a normal girl. Like the Prince and the Pauper, only with magic. Still, what was the cause of this? A genie? Were there such things as genies? She didn't know – after all, she hadn't believed in magic until yesterday!

She bounded down the steps, trying to look chipper as she said "Good morning!" to everyone.

"Good morning to you too, Alex," Theresa said.

"I'm ready for another exciting day of school!" Mikayla said, managing to not sound sarcastic at all.

"Haha, good one," Justin said as he came down the stairs after her.

"How are you today my darling brother?" she replied, _this_ time with enough sarcasm in her voice that Justin merely rolled his eyes. "Come on, we don't want to be late."

"Who are you and what have you done with my sister?" Justin cried. Mikayla just smiled.

When they got to school, Harper approached Mikayla.

"So did you figure anything out?" she asked, sounding genuinely concerned.

"No, not really," Mikayla said. She considered telling her about magic, but then realized that obviously Alex hadn't told Harper, and probably the entire thing was supposed to be a secret. So, like she had been doing so much lately, she said nothing about it.

"I dunno, I really don't," she said instead, which was technically true – she didn't _know_ that magic was involved.

"The whole thing reminds me of Freaky Friday combined with Parent Trap," Harper said, going on with her train of thought.

"The originals or the remakes?" Mikayla said playfully.

"I don't know," Harper said as though Mikayla's question were serious and deserved the utmost attention and thought. "Do you like Lindsay Lohan? She starred in remakes of both those films..."

"Weren't there like two or three remakes of _both_ of those?" Mikayla said, happy to be discussing something mundane with a friend for once. This was the kind of thing she was missing out on in her big pop star life, so she relished in it. She did want to get back to her own life, after all, she did have her own friends, but she would miss Harper.

* * *

Meanwhile, Alex was in Mikayla's room, plotting her next move.

"I need to get to New York somehow," she said aloud, talking through her problems. "Looks like it's time for a spell."

"_To show my brother he's a dork_

_Mikayla is sent to New York."_

Nearly the moment she was done with the couplet, Jasmine came in.

"Mikayla, the celebrity guest star for David Missiveguy got sick. They want Mikayla to fly into New York and appear on the show. Think you're up for that?"

"Definitely!" Alex said, excited about the prospect. Seems her magic had done it again. Now she just had to be sure that Justin would be there. After Jasmine left the room, she started to think up another spell.

_"To ensure that my brother sees me,_

_The Russos get tickets for free_."

* * *

Alex's magic was clearly getting good. That day, a man approached Theresa at the cash register, right around lunchtime.

"Congratulations!" he said. "You've just won two backstage passes to David Missiveguy, featuring Mikayla tonight!"

"Is this some kind of joke?" Theresa asked, but took the tickets anyway.

"No joke ma'am. You enjoy those."

"Well all right. Thank you," she said, thinking that Justin would probably love to see Mikayla in person on David Missiveguy, which was one of his favorite programs anyway.

That evening, she told the family what had happened that day during lunch.

"So there are two tickets, who would like to go?"

"I'll go!" Justin cried, almost jumping up out of his seat.

"You said that Mikayla is going to be on? I think I'd like to see that," Mikayla said, thinking that this might be her chance to confront Alex about what had happened and even switch back.

* * *

A.N.: OK, Ashley Tisdale covered Rick Astley's song? That has nothing to do with this story at all, but still, _wtf?? _Now, back to actual notes... yeah, I know that they wouldn't just fly to New York on such short notice, nor would a family randomly win tickets like that, and nor would anyone let two kids go to a show by themselves, but, um, a wizard did it! (And in case you didn't guess, David Missiveguy is a pun on David Letterman.) Also sorry it's short. I know you probably want a longer one after that length of time without any, but this is where this chapter has to end. Next one up sooner than the last, promise!


	9. On air with David Missiveguy

**A.N.**: So yeah, I broke my promise of this chapter being up sooner than the last... but it's been hectic _and_ I don't know exactly where this is going. But yeah, people are yelling at me to continue so here goes.

* * *

Mikayla and Justin dressed to go on David Missiveguy. Both of them were anxious with anticipation (is it possible to be otherwise?), though for different reasons. Justin was excited to see Mikayla in person, even if it was from afar. Mikayla on the other hand, was anxious about the prospect of getting her life back, though she wasn't sure how she would get backstage to see her.

Mikayla put on a tank top with a halter-top over it, and then a mesh jacket over that. She felt sure it would pass her parents' – Alex's parents' – scrutiny. It was cute, too. She didn't know why, but she felt that this would be important. Besides which, she _liked_ feeling cute. To this end she also put on makeup. It belonged to Alex but she found that it accented her skin tone quite well. It was almost scary how alike she and Alex must look.

She wondered what Alex was thinking right now. Was she just as confused as Mikayla? Was she worrying about how she was going to get back to her own life? Or did she somehow engineer this entire situation? Mikayla was disinclined to think ill of anyone else (with the exception of Hannah Montana or her annoying tagalong in the wig), so she went with the belief that this whole thing was an accident – possibly magic gone awry or just an odd occurrence. She wondered if she would like Alex if she had gotten to know her under normal circumstances. She rather liked Harper, and figured that anyone who would choose friends like that was probably OK.

As she was preparing, she heard a cough from behind her, and turned around quickly to see Justin standing in the doorway.

"Can I help you?" she said, batting her eyelashes perhaps a bit too much. The effect was obviously not lost on Justin. He smiled awkwardly, as though ashamed to be intruding on her private sanctum. Mikayla smiled back though, invitingly. She motioned slightly, as though to say "Come in but don't make yourself comfortable." Justin shifted, and then took a step into the room.

"You look nice, Alex," he said, stuttering a bit. Mikayla shuddered, be it out of excitement or disgust she could not tell. She decided to take the compliment, and noticed at that time that Justin was also dressed up. He had on a t-shirt with a normal shirt over it, unbuttoned. It hung loosely, as though to say "Whatever." His hair was styled, and Mikayla noted a glisten of gel. He would probably deny putting so much effort into his appearance, but it caused Mikayla to smirk.

"What?" he asked, looking around.

"Nothing," she replied. "You look nice too."

"Thanks," he said, coming over to her. Mikayla stood up. They were facing each other, looking into one another's eyes without saying anything.

"Something seems...different about you lately," Justin said after a bit.

"I...don't know," Mikayla replied, quickly breaking the gaze and looking at her shoes. They stood there awkwardly for a minute. They were only saved when they heard a cry from downstairs.

"Alex! Justin! Time to get going to David Missiveguy!" Theresa called.

They were both relieved to have the excuse, and shuffled out, and downstairs. They left and got on their bus, and took it to the DET network studios. They took their seats (number 42 and 43) and a crowd gathered around them. Before the show started, they were approached by a man holding a clipboard and wearing an ear bud.

"Seats 42 and 43?" he said. Justin and Mikayla looked up and at him, questioningly.

"You've been randomly selected for backstage passes! After the show you'll get to meet David and his guest star, Mikayla."

"Cool!" Mikayla said. This was the break for which she had been waiting. This would let her get backstage just as she needed. Sometimes she couldn't believe her luck.

Justin, meanwhile, said nothing. He stammered a bit. Eventually the clipboard-guy left and Justin turned to Mikayla.

"Did you hear that? Is this real? Do I - we – get to meet Mikayla? Oh my gosh! This is like a dream come true! I get to meet the girl I love the most in life."

Mikayla just smiled, but thought, to herself _Honey, you already had...and I mean long before I came into your life._

Then, just as quickly as that had happened, the show apparently started. David walked onto the set, there was applause, the orchestra played the theme song. David stood in front of the audience and began his light-hearted monologue which was really just him BSing. It sounded like a great job, really.

Meanwhile, Mikayla worried. Would Alex see her in the audience? Was that actually Alex? What if it weren't Alex? She was so wrought with worry that she didn't even notice when 'Mikayla' was brought out and seated next to Dave. But when she finally did see it, she snapped to attention.

"So Mikayla," Dave said to her after the applause died down. Alex, or whomever she was, looked good up there, Mikayla had to admit. At least she wouldn't give her a bad name. "How are you?"

"I'm really well, Dave," Alex replied. Mikayla thought that she had very good presence and control of her voice. She had the perfect pitch and carry for the situation. It was beautiful. "I've been busy lately, of course, but it's all really fun stuff."

"Yeah, you have a new album coming out, isn't that right?"

"Why yes it is Dave! I really love every track on this last album. There isn't a single one that I wouldn't recommend to a friend, you know, if I weren't the artist," she said, laughing coyly. Perfect.

The banter went on for a while, and Mikayla noticed, with growing relief, that she apparently knew a lot about Mikayla and her life. It would be typical for a really dedicated fan to know all this, but she must have done her research. (Or the other option, Mikayla was actually Alex but deluded, but she didn't want to think about that at the moment.) After her interview, Dave talked a bit more and they ran other segments, but Mikayla didn't pay much attention. She was too anxious for the backstage bit.

Finally, it came. The show ended and the same guy with the clipboard and ear bud came up to them, gave them VIP passes on a lanyard, and escorted them back stage. David was sitting on a couch in a lounge.

"Hey, nice to meet you two," he said, sounding sincere. He shook both of their hands. He'd always given off the air that he was probably a really nice guy, even in real life, but this really just confirmed it for both Mikayla and Justin. It was possible that he was still acting, but he'd have to be a really good actor, and then he probably wouldn't be in the late night talk show business.

They chatted for a bit, and then he stood up. "Well, I bet two kids like you are more thrilled to meet Mikayla than an old fogey like me," he said, excusing himself. "Why don't you go back to her dressing room? She sounded excited to meet two fans."

Justin thanked Dave cordially, and with growing excitement bounded down the hall toward Mikayla's dressing room. Mikayla strolled behind him, keeping pace. She wanted to confront Alex.

When they got to the door, Justin paused and took a deep breath. He brought his fist up to the door, prepared to knock, but found he couldn't. He tried again, but before he could even fail, Mikayla opened the door herself.

Inside was sitting the Mikayla-double, at the mirror, surrounded with flowers. Justin looked incredulous that his sister had just barged in on Mikayla, but Mikayla, the real Mikayla, marched right in.

"So pleased to meet you!" Alex said.

"Pleased to meet you too," Mikayla said. "Alex Russo."

Alex smiled. "And you're the real Mikayla. I'm glad you're here."

Mikayla licked her lips. She wasn't going to back down now, though she would give Alex the benefit of the doubt.

"What happened, anyway?" she said. Meanwhile Justin was extremely confused. He sat down on a couch and watched the events unfold.

Alex approached Mikayla. "We switched places, apparently," she said, shrugging. Then without warning, she touched Mikayla on the forehead. Mikayla slumped over and Alex caught her and steered her into a chair.

"Alex?" Justin cried, looking at Alex, the real Alex, whom he had thought was Mikayla for a while now.

"Hush now, I'm concentrating," she said, waving her arms. She began to chant the spell she needed. It took about a minute, and then she snapped her fingers and switched outfits with the real Mikayla.

"But, what? How? ALEX!"

"Yes, it's me," Alex said, disappointed that he believed her so quickly. She supposed she was acting very Alex-like.

"Ooh, you're in big trouble now," he said, backing away.

"Oh come now, you can't prove it. Besides, you won't tell."

"What makes you so sure?"

"That would require admitting you were wrong – I do look like Mikayla."

"Well I _was_ wrong, but..." he trailed off. "Well, I realized something else, too," he said, coming closer to Alex. Alex felt her heart beat faster to be in such proximity of Justin. She finally admitted to herself her growing attraction to him. This was wrong, so wrong, but it was what she wanted.

It was also apparently what Justin wanted. He kissed her, softly, the unconscious Mikayla, the girl Justin thought he loved just feet away from the girl he did.

- Fin


End file.
